NEW DELHI: In the first political reaction on the Sino-Indian stand-off, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said the Army must give a matching response on the border with China and should not slacken the ongoing infrastructure improvement on the Indian side of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the de facto border between the two countries.
Later in the day, there were reports of Prime Minister Narendra Modi taking stock of the LAC situation in a meeting with National Security Adviser Ajit Doval, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the three service chiefs, but it could not be independently confirmed.
Earlier, Rajnath Singh chaired a meeting with the three service chiefs and the Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat. “The minister was briefed on the situation and the steps taken by the Army,” a source said, adding that the meeting went for a little more than an hour. While it was affirmed that the situation will eventually be resolved through diplomatic means, India will maintain its hold on the ground on its side of the border.
It was decided road construction along the LAC will continue.China initiated the stand-off by objecting to the construction activity on the Indian side between Finger 3 and Finger 4 and also on an arterial link to Galwan Valley being built as an offshoot of the 255 km-long Darbuk-Shyok and DBO road. China also forcefully stopped the Indian Army patrol on the intervening night of 5-6 May at Finger 5 on the Northern Flank of the Pangong Tso Lake.